Serena Williams is adding another custom Barbie to her collection. Mattel released a new Serena Williams Barbie doll through its Signature line on Thursday, just days before International Day of the Girl on October 11th.
New Barbie Celebrates Williams's Australian Open Comeback
The Mattel doll recreates the outfit Williams wore when she claimed her seventh Grand Slam singles title at the 2005 Australian Open. It features a green-and-white mesh cutout top paired with a coordinating headband, skirt, miniature racket, and tiny tennis ball.
This marks Williams's second Barbie collaboration of 2026, after a one-of-a-kind Role Model figure debuted in March as part of the brand's global Dream Team. Unlike that release, however, this doll is available for purchase at $45.
Alongside the launch, Barbie's Dream Gap Project announced a donation to Mrs. Rina's House of Blessings, a cause Williams often champions.
"I didn't see many girls who looked like me being told there was no limit to who they could become," Williams said. "I want every girl who plays with this doll to see possibility in herself."
With this latest collab, the Compton native and Olympic gold medalist now joins Mattel's Team Barbie, a group of athletes the brand spotlights as role models for young girls.
Elise Mertens scored one of the biggest upsets of the 2026 China Open, taking down No. 8 seed Iga Świątek 7-6(0), 6-3 during their quarterfinal match on Friday in Beijing. The win gave the Belgian her first victory over Świątek in three WTA meetings.
The win also propelled Mertens to her first WTA 1000 semifinal in five years.
Confident Tiebreak Earns Mertens the Win in Beijing
Mertens dictated play from the opening game, winning 87% of her first-serve points while never facing a break point.
After a tight first set, she ran away with the tiebreak 7-0, becoming the first player to blank Świątek in a tiebreak at the pro tour level. She then broke early in the second to close out the match in one hour and 50 minutes.
"Sometimes you just grow into a tournament," Mertens said of her China Open run.
That growth has been hard to miss. Before toppling Świątek, the Belgian knocked off Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko and Coco Gauff in back-to-back rounds. It's the first time she's beaten multiple major winners at a single event since 2019.
Next, Mertens faces home favorite Qinwen Zheng in Saturday's semifinal, with a spot in her first WTA 1000 final on the line.
Caitlin Clark is standing firmly behind Kelsey Mitchell. At her end-of-season press conference, the Indiana Fever guard pushed back on any racist abuse directed at her teammate, who revealed days earlier that hostile fan messages have overshadowed her time in Indiana.
Kelsey Mitchell Spotlights Media, Fan Scrutiny in Indiana
Mitchell, an unrestricted free agent after nine seasons with the franchise, said Saturday that she'll put herself first this offseason. She described the abusive messages she receives "specifically being an Indiana Fever basketball player," and admitted the environment hasn't always felt welcoming.
She also acknowledged that Clark's spotlight often made playing at Gainbridge Fieldhouse more difficult.
"Playing with CC and having the eyes that she got, we get a lot of flak just for being on her team," Mitchell admitted.
Clark Defends Mitchell, Clarifies Her Stance on Fever Fan Behavior
Now, Clark is publicly supporting her on-court counterpart.
"As her teammate, that makes you upset because you care about your teammates so much," Clark said of Mitchell's comments. "She knows how much I love her. There's nobody I'd want to share a backcourt with other than her."
Still, Clark recognized Mitchell's experience, in the league and with the Fever, has been different from her own. She used her time at the mic to call for an end to any abuse aimed at her teammates.
"As far as people that have used me to demonstrate racist rhetoric or hate or discrimination, that's not something I stand for," Clark said.
"It's never been something I've stood for. For those of you who know me, you know that's not what I'm about. That's not how I was raised. So that's really disappointing when people do that."
Over the course of the 2026 season, Clark and Mitchell combined for 47 points per game — more than any duo in WNBA history. They also led the Fever to a 28-16 record, notching the franchise's best winning percentage since its 2012 championship run.
Clark has made it clear she want Mitchell on the Fever's roster come 2027, saying the organization is "going to work our butt off to get her back."
But the final decision lies with Mitchell, who will have plenty of time to think things over as she considers her WNBA future as an unrestricted free agent.
Sydney Colson is taking aim at the Indiana Fever's front office. On her podcast Unsupervised, the former Fever guard challenged GM Amber Cox's recent defense of Indiana's fan base, calling it a "slap in the face" to Black players in the organization.
Fever GM Dismissed Fan Conduct Concerns After A'ja Wilson Incident
Following the Fever's 2026 WNBA playoff exit, Cox insisted that criticism of Indiana's fans had "no basis in reality." The remarks came after an incident during Game 2 of the first-round series against Las Vegas.
During a fourth-quarter foul call, Aces star A'ja Wilson confronted a fan courtside for pointing and stepping toward her. Colson was in attendance for the game, and even got involved in the exchange.
The WNBA vet, who spent the 2025 season in Indiana before tearing her ACL, argued that the organization has done "little to nothing" to address its spectator problem. Rather than labeling all Fever fans, she stressed that dismissing real concerns only encourages future bad behavior.
"Whether you think it makes sense or not, A'ja felt, and she said in the postgame, 'I didn't like how he was pointing, looking at me.' And neither did his wife," Colson said of the interaction.
Syd Colson Addresses Indiana Fan Culture on 'Unsupervised' Podcast
Still, Colson made clear her frustration isn't aimed at the entire fan base. Instead, she wants the organization to stop downplaying real concerns.
The current environment, she says, doesn't discourage "hateful, racist, homophobic, sexist" behavior. To change that, Indiana must start holding offending individuals accountable.
"We didn't say that these individual people are racist, but this environment is not discouraging people from showing up and being hateful, racist, homophobic, sexist, any of those things," she continued. "It's a problem, and it's not new."
Sophie Cunningham made her hat the headline at the University of Missouri's homecoming game on October 3rd. The Indiana Fever guard attended the Mizzou football game against Florida wearing a ball cap that read "No Cis, just… Woman."
She then gestured toward it with both hands after the 2026 Mizzou Alumni Association introduced her as a Hall of Fame inductee.
Cunningham Reignites WNBA Trans Athlete Debate in Missouri
That moment capped months of mounting friction surrounding the debate over trans athletes in the WNBA.
In July, the former All-SEC standout told ESPN she wanted "to protect young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men." Her remarks triggered pregame rallies outside Fever games and eventually prompted former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom to file paperwork entering himself in the 2027 WNBA Draft as a publicity stunt.
The WNBPA pushed back, saying its members "will not be used as political pawns." Still, weeks later, Cunningham posed alongside anti-trans activists Riley Gaines and Jennifer Sey after a game in Minnesota.
Mizzou's athletic department offered no comment on Cunningham's Missouri game appearance, but the reaction online split predictably. Supporters applauded her conviction while critics labeled the gesture as exclusionary.
Cunningham, an unrestricted free agent after a one-year deal with Indiana, now faces even more questions about how her off-court moves might influence her next WNBA contract.
Qinwen Zheng knocked off No. 6 seed Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6(8-6) on Friday in Beijing, advancing to the semifinals at the 2026 China Open for just the second time in her career. Entering as a wildcard, the former world No. 4 needed just one hour and 47 minutes to take down one of the tournament's top seeds.
Zheng & Svitolina Need Tiebreak to Decide Beijing Quarterfinal
Zheng controlled the opener from the baseline, breaking Svitolina twice to claim the first set. But that momentum stalled in the second set. Both players went point for point, holding serve through 12 games before a tense tiebreak, with Zheng needing two match points to finish it.
With the result, Zheng scored her 12th victory in 13 WTA matches this fall. That run is projected to push her back into the Top 40 after she dropped as low as No. 160 earlier this year.
She's now just the third wildcard entrant to reach this stage at the China Open, following Peng Shuai (2006) and Wang Qiang (2018).
"It was a really great win for me," Zheng said. "I think she also play her best tennis. I'm just happy to have lot of winners during the match, and at the end, be brave in important moment."
Up next, she faces No. 13 seed Elise Mertens, who upset eighth-seeded Iga Świątek in their quarterfinal match on Friday.
Skylar Draser is out at Florida gymnastics. The NCAA program confirmed Wednesday that the senior, along with juniors Ly Bui and Lily Bruce, are "no longer members" of the three-time national championship team.
Why Did Florida Release 3 Gymnasts?
Head coach Jenny Rowland offered little explanation for the departures beyond a brief statement.
"Our focus remains on supporting our athletes and maintaining a team culture built on accountability, respect and commitment," Rowland said.
Still, the move represents a notable loss for the women's college gymnastics program. Draser opened the beam rotation for the Gators across much of last year and posted a career-high 9.95 on the event. She also contributed on vault and occasionally competed on bars.
Bui, who joined the Gators at 16 after graduating high school early, spent two seasons primarily on vault before injuries limited her availability.
Bruce did not appear in competitive lineups during her time at Florida, though she logged three exhibition bars appearances during the 2026 season. All three earned WCGA Scholastic All-American honors during their time at the school.
Draser Speaks Out Against 'Disturbing' Online Rumors
After the announcement, Draser posted on Instagram that she plans to transfer once she graduates in December. She also called out rumors online surrounding her departure.
"I never imagined that stepping away from Florida in the middle of my final year would mean seeing my name circulating online attached to so many hurtful, and disturbing false narratives," she wrote.
"While I cannot control what others choose to say or believe, I know the truth, I know my character, and I know what I gave to this program."
Kentucky State women's basketball center Aminata Seck has been released from ICE custody after being detained for two months in an federal detention center. A judge ruled she posed no community danger or flight risk, allowing Seck to walk free on a $2,500 bond on Wednesday.
ICE Agents Detain Aminata Seck En Route to HBCU All-Star Game
ICE agents stopped Seck on August 7th at Louisville's Muhammad Ali International Airport as she traveled to an HBCU All-Star Game. DHS officials said she entered the US legally in 2019 on a temporary basis and overstayed her visa.
The agency issued a removal order in September 2025 after Seck missed a mandatory hearing. A Memphis judge later found agents never properly notified the HBCU student-athlete of the hearing, reopening her case.
Seck spent her final week in isolation at the Grayson County Detention Center. She described that stretch as the most difficult of her confinement. Seck also had to put surgery to address a torn ACL and meniscus on hold while she was in custody.
"I'm just ready to go back to school, get my master's, and get this surgery done," she said.
Seck Awaits Immigration Hearing Amid Media Attention
The court has set Seck's next immigration hearing for November 20th. Meanwhile, her lawyer addressed the media attention her client's case has received while addressing the All-Conference athlete's experience.
"There are other people who are not basketball players, and they will not get this kind of attention," said attorney Sadiqa Reynolds. "We owe ourselves better than this."
Mirra Andreeva turned a one-sided rivalry around on Thursday, beating Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6(4), 7-6(3) to reach the 2026 China Open semifinals in Beijing. The result marked one of the tightest scores of the quarterfinal round, and Andreeva's first win in three career WTA meetings with the Russian veteran.
But victory didn't come easily for the young star.
Andreeva Powers Through Tiebreakers to Seal the Win in Beijing
Tiebreakers decided both sets though Andreeva raced to a 4-1 lead in the second, serving for the match at 5-3. But Alexandrova clawed her way back to force another must-win contest. With the breaker knotted at 2-2, Andreeva settled in, landing a forehand winner before taking five of the final six points to seal it in one hour and 53 minutes.
"She played unbelievable today, and I'm very happy to get my very first win against her," Andreeva said. "I could have played more aggressive, but what a match this was. I'm super happy with how it went."
At just 19 years old, Andreeva becomes the youngest China Open semifinalist since Ágnes Szávay in 2007.
Thursday's win also gave her a fourth career WTA 1000 semifinal appearance, a milestone only Coco Gauff has topped as a teenager.
The 2026 Pan Pacific Open just unveiled one of the deepest draws left on the WTA tour calendar. Multiple top 10 players, led by world No. 1 Elena Rybakina, headline the season's final WTA 500 event, which runs Oct. 26th through November 1st in Tokyo.
Rybakina returns after a back injury ended her semifinal bid here last year, but she's far from the only name with something to play for.
5 Top Ranked Players Head to Tokyo Ahead of WTA Finals
The WTA tournament field in Tokyo includes Iga Świątek, Jessica Pegula, Elina Svitolina, and Marta Kostyuk as defending champion Belinda Bencic returns after taking last year's title over Linda Nosková.
Beyond the trophy, several players have year-end positioning at stake. Svitolina and Kostyuk are both chasing spots in the WTA Finals, and Rybakina could solidify her grip on the No. 1 ranking with a strong run.
Meanwhile, breakouts like Alexandra Eala, Iva Jovic, Leylah Fernandez, and Maja Chwalinska look to end their year on a high note with a strong showing after a busy hard court season. And former champion Naomi Osaka adds a hometown narrative to a week with plenty on the line.
With a six-figure purse and 500 points awaiting the winner, the Pan Pacific Open offers one of the last chances for players to climb the rankings before the 2026 tour wraps up.